The present invention generally relates to a method of making a food product from the thigh of a bird as well as the food product produced thereby, and, more particularly to a food product comprising an elongated strip of thigh meat.
Birds, such as poultry and fowl, are conventionally eviscerated, dressed and sold either as a whole bird or as severed parts, i.e., breasts, thighs, wings, etc. One of the parts which is often separated and sold is the upper portion of the bird leg, generally referred to as the thigh. Typically, thighs are sold with the skin in place and with the thigh meat surrounding an elongated bone extending generally from one end of the thigh to the other.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for innovative meat products, particularly products which require less time for preparation and which include little or no waste. There has also been an increasing demand for meat products which are boneless or relatively boneless, making such products easier to consume. Hence, products such as boneless chicken breasts, chicken tenders, etc., have enjoyed tremendous commercial success. Other innovative products such as "hot wings", "buffalo wings", etc., have also obtained enhanced popularity for the respective cuts from which they are prepared.
Until recently, some bird parts such as thighs and drumsticks have not been particularly amenable to such enhanced commercial processing and/or preparation methods for a variety of reasons primarily related to the type of meat (dark versus light), the size and centralized location of the bone, etc.
Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/685,324, filed Apr. 15, 1991, discloses a method of dressing a thigh cut of poultry which essentially involves removing a portion of the meat from each side of the thigh to provide a cut which is generally square or parallelogram-shaped on all sides of the bone thereby facilitating consumption. The present invention comprises a method of making a unique food product from the removed side portions or side lobes of thigh meat. The food product comprises a plurality of elongated strips of thigh meat, each strip having a predetermined width of approximately one-eighth of an inch in the preferred embodiment. The present invention also comprises a method of preparing the elongated thigh meat strips utilizing a marinating process. Finally, the present invention comprises, in an alternate embodiment, a method of forming such elongated strips from a generally boneless thigh cut.